June 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:
Please find attached and below the preliminary agenda and public comment guidelines for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Summer Meeting, August 1-3, 2017 in Alexandria, VA. The agenda is also available at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-summer-meeting. Also included in the attachment are the travel authorization form, travel reimbursement guidelines and directions to the hotel. Materials will be available on July 19, 2017 on the Commission website at http://www.asmfc.org/home/2017-summer-meeting.
A block of rooms is being held at The Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, VA 22314. Cindy Robertson will make Commissioner/Proxy reservations and will contact you regarding the details of your accommodations. Please notify Cindy of any changes to your travel plans that will impact your hotel reservations, otherwise you will incur no-show penalties. We greatly appreciate your cooperation.
For all other attendees, please reserve online or call The Westin Alexandria at 866.837.4210 as soon as possible and mention the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to obtain the group room rate of $174.00 plus tax single/dbl. Please be aware that you must guarantee your room reservation with a major credit card or one night’s advance payment. Hotel reservations must be made by Wednesday, July 5, 2017. Room availability will not be guaranteed beyond this date. If you are being reimbursed by ASMFC for your travel, please make your reservation directly with the hotel. Reservations made through travel websites do not apply toward our minimum number of required reservations with the hotel. Cancellations at The Westin must be made prior to 48 hours of arrival to avoid penalty. If you have any problems at all regarding accommodations please contact Cindy at 703.842.0740 or at crobertson@asmfc.org. For those driving to the meeting, the Colonial Parking Garage, 551 John Carlyle St. near the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (Open 24hrs). The $10 daily rate there is a substantial savings over parking at the Westin.
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
Summer Meeting
August 1-3, 2017
The Westin Alexandria
Alexandria, Virginia
Preliminary Agenda
The agenda is subject to change. Bulleted items represent the anticipated major issues to be discussed or acted upon at the meeting. The final agenda will include additional items and may revise the bulleted items provided below. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein.
Tuesday, August 1
8:00 – 9:30 a.m. Executive Committee
(A portion of this meeting may be a closed session for Committee members and Commissioners only)
- Discuss Council/Commission Line in NOAA Budget
- Discuss Executive Director’s Contract Renewal
9:45 a.m. – 1:30 p.m. South Atlantic State/Federal Fisheries Management Board
- Review and Consider Cobia Draft Fishery Management Plan for Public Comment
- Review and Consider Spot Benchmark Stock Assessment and Peer Review Report for Management use
- Technical Committee Update of Traffic Light Analysis for Atlantic Croaker and Exploratory Analyses for Incorporation of Shrimp Trawl Bycatch Index
1:45 – 2:45 p.m. Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program Coordinating Council
- Program Update
- Review and Consider Approval of Marine Recreational Information Program Recreational Implementation Plan
- Recreational Data Collection: Changes on the Horizon
3:00 – 6:00 p.m. American Lobster Management Board
- Consider American Lobster Draft Addendum XXV for Final Approval
- American Lobster Gulf of Maine/Georges Bank Subcommittee Report
- Review Draft Addendum XXVI
- Report on State and Federal Inconsistencies in Lobster Conservation Management Area 4 Season Closure
- Law Enforcement Committee Report on American Lobster Chain of Custody
Wednesday, August 2
8:00 – 10:00 a.m. Shad and River Herring Management Board
- Review River Herring Stock Assessment Update
- Review and Consider Approval of Shad and River Herring Sustainable Fishery Management Plans (SFMP)
- Technical Committee Report
- South Carolina: Updated River Herring SFMP
- Florida: Updated Shad SFMP
- Consider Approval of 2017 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports
10:15 – 11:15 a.m. American Eel Management Board
- Update on North Carolina Aquaculture Program in 2017
- Consider Approval of 2016 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board
- Review 2017 Stock Assessment Update
1:30 – 5:45 p.m. Atlantic Menhaden Management Board (continued)
- Biological Ecological Reference Point Work Group Review of Hilborn, et al (2017) Paper
- Review and Consider Approval of Draft Amendment 3 for Public Comment
- Set 2018 Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Specifications
Thursday, August 3
8:00 – 11:30 a.m. Interstate Fisheries Management Program Policy Board
- Executive Committee Report
- State Director Meeting Overview
- Consider New Jersey Appeal of Addendum XXVIII to the Summer Flounder FMP
- Annual Report on the Performance of the Stocks
- Review 2017 Atlantic Sturgeon Benchmark Stock Assessment Update
- Consider Standard Operating Policies and Procedures for Standard Meeting Practices
- Discuss New England Fishery Management Council Participation on the Atlantic Herring Section
- Review Reports from the Assessment Science Committee, Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership, Habitat Committee, Artificial Reef Committee, Law Enforcement Committee, and Northeast and Southeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Programs
11:45 a.m. – 1:45 p.m. Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Management Board and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council
- Update on Summer Flounder Recreational Working Group
- Review of 2017 Black Sea Bass Recreational Measures
- Consider Approval of 2017 FMP Review and State Compliance Reports
2:00 – 4:30 p.m. Tautog Management Board
- Consider Amendment 1 for Final Approval
Public Comment Guidelines
With the intent of developing policies in the Commission’s procedures for public participation that result in a fair opportunity for public input, the ISFMP Policy Board has approved the following guidelines for use at management board meetings:
For issues that are not on the agenda, management boards will continue to provide opportunity to the public to bring matters of concern to the board’s attention at the start of each board meeting. Board chairs will use a speaker sign-up list in deciding how to allocate the available time on the agenda (typically 10 minutes) to the number of people who want to speak.
For topics that are on the agenda, but have not gone out for public comment, board chairs will provide limited opportunity for comment, taking into account the time allotted on the agenda for the topic. Chairs will have flexibility in deciding how to allocate comment opportunities; this could include hearing one comment in favor and one in opposition until the chair is satisfied further comment will not provide additional insight to the board.
For agenda action items that have already gone out for public comment, it is the Policy Board’s intent to end the occasional practice of allowing extensive and lengthy public comments. Currently, board chairs have the discretion to decide what public comment to allow in these circumstances.
In addition, the following timeline has been established for the submission of written comment for issues for which the Commission has NOT established a specific public comment period (i.e., in response to proposed management action).
- Comments received 3 weeks prior to the start of a meeting week will be included in the briefing materials.
- Comments received by 5:00 PM on the Tuesday immediately preceding the scheduled ASMFC Meeting (in this case, the Tuesday deadline will be July 25, 2017) will be distributed electronically to Commissioners/Board members prior to the meeting and a limited number of copies will be provided at the meeting.
- Following the Tuesday, July 25, 2017 5:00 PM deadline, the commenter will be responsible for distributing the information to the management board prior to the board meeting or providing enough copies for the management board consideration at the meeting (a minimum of 50 copies).
The submitted comments must clearly indicate the commenter’s expectation from the ASMFC staff regarding distribution. As with other public comment, it will be accepted via mail, fax, and email.